There are at least two of us here experimenting with using the ketogenic diet to control bipolar illness. We met up on another thread:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...21&page=1&pp=15

I wanted to start a thread here to discuss it.

There is an untested theory that a ketogenic diet might be useful in treating bipolar illness. Many bipolar meds started life as epilepsy/seizure meds. The ketogenic diet has proved highly effective in controlling, and even curing, epilepsy. So, the theory goes, if epilepsy meds are effective against bp, possibly the ketogenic diet might be as well.

One researcher was able to get funds to test this theory but was unable to attract participants.

My son is dx'd with bipolar. He started Atkins yesterday. I'd like to see if the diet helps.

Awesome!

My name is Carley & I am rapid cycling Bipolar 1. I take Lamictal, Seroquel & occasionally Zyprexa Zydis as needed. I am a married mother of one & live a beautiful life regardless of my illness, however living with Bipolar disorder is similar to any other chronic disease (diabietes, epilepsy, etc): it is always there, and there are times the burden weighs heavier than others.

I began Atkins Induction as a means to regulate my blood sugar & end the starve/binge cycle I've struggled with for so long. I noticed wonderful stabalizing effects, finally relieved of the overwhelming insulin rollercoaster. I also noticed another completely unexpected side effect: a decline in daily cycling and a consistant elevated mood. For rapid cycling Bipolar 1 that is a miracle.

More research on low-carb high fat diets led me to the ketogenic diet, a low carb high fat diet used as cotherapy in epileptic patients. Since Bipolar disorder is a seizure disorder I was interested to see if it could further alleviate my symptoms. I found there was speculation among the psychiatric community, though there have been no studies done as of yet.

I am embarking on this experiment imperfectly, of course, as I do not have the support of a doctor or nutritionist. The ratio is remarkably difficult to accomplish, so I am hoping that other interested individuals will come to this thread to share what is working for them & what isn't.

I've also joined the following yahoogroups:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ketogenic/
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/atkins4seizures/

I hope if there are any other bipolar individuals or those affected by the bipolar illness out there they will come out of the darkness in this thread, regardless of what diet they are or are not on.

Let's support each other!

Hi Carley. It's good to hear that you're successful in so many areas of your life. My son, who is 23, is really struggling in most areas. He can't seem to find a gf or hold a job. In addition to psychosis he suffers from the cognitive problems that often accompany bipolar - poor short term memory and difficulties in learning new things. It makes it very difficult to learn new tasks despite having normal intelligence. He is being successful in school right now. So that's good news.

He's on day three of Atkins, and I'm still waiting for the books I ordered: The Ketogenic Diet and Keto Kid.

I signed up for the Aktins4seizures yahoo group, but my application is still pending.

I hope I'm not intruding here, but I have a lowered seizure threshold (mild epilepsy basically) and pre-diabetes. I'm not going all the way to deliberate ketosis, but carb restriction to control my blood glucose has definately helped me.

I am also wondering if the people here who have been diagnosed with mood related problems have ever been tested for diabetes? Out of control blood glucose can cause mood swings, so I wonder if in some cases this is missed as a cause of symptoms like those of bipolar disorder.

OTOH perhaps it is that being bipolar, smaller changes in blood glucose, the ones everybody has in an ordinary day from activity, hunger and food consumption have a greater impact on you.

Well, I was prediabetic - but not bipolar. My son is bipolar. Mood disorders and alcoholism run in my family. But I don't know about diabetes. As far as I know there are no diabetics in my family, although my father - who wasn't inclined to see doctors - was quite obese when he died suddenly of a heart attack. He may have been an undiagnosed diabetic.

I think your theory makes sense. On another forum I'm on - about bipolar disorder - one of the participants quit eating sugar and chocolate four days ago. Her moods have already evened out and she's no longer experiencing depression. Makes me wonder if she ever had bp at all.

Well, today is day five for my son. He was in moderate ketosis last night. He's also lost weight. Before starting on the Zyprexa he weighed 143. After 3 months on Zyprexa he was up to 152. Yesterday he weighed 146. So if nothing else, Atkins may help with the almost inevitable weight gain from the med.

I have no idea how easy or hard it might be to persuade a doctor of this, but IMHO the mood disorders and alcoholism that run in your family might well be caused by undiagnosed diabetes. That would mean it is actually diabetes that runs in the family, the rest is the result of it. My own father avoids doctors, likes a drink or two, and is not diagnosed diabetic.

It looks like there is nothing to lose by your son trying a low carb diet, what if it works? Plus, you could run a few drops of his blood past a home use glucose meter, just to see what it says.

I'm still waiting for my ketogenic diet books. In the meantime I'm reviewing two books I already had at home: Change Your Brain Change Your Life by Dr. Daniel Amen (http://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-B...21567776&sr=8-1) and The Brain Trust Program by Larry McCleary (http://www.amazon.com/Brain-Trust-P...1568723&sr=1-1).

Although I've read Dr. Amen's book before, it never struck me that he recommends a high-protein/low-carb diet for almost all of the brain dysfunctions he discusses. (He does have the typical bias against dietary fat.) Certainly for the parts of the brain which my son seems to be having difficulty with (based on symptoms) - the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia - the low-carb diet is his recommendation.

The Brain Trust Program is a book I bought after someone on the lowcarber forum recommended it. It includes a recipe for a "ketogenic cocktail," which the doctor calls "rocket fuel for the brain." It has MCT oil, flax seed oil, and EPA. Since one variant of the ketogenic diet uses MCT oil to help one move more quickly into ketosis while consuming more carbs, I'm going to ask my son to try this ketogenic cocktail for a while.

It sounds like a good theory to me. I have a sister in her late 30's who's battling depression and alcoholism right now. She's also gaining a lot of weight. I've suggested changing her diet, but she's not too interested. And I hesitate to push the issue much. Maybe if my son improves, she'll be motivated to try.



Great idea. I have a meter at home. I'll see if he'll pop for it.

Maybe suggest that she asks for tests for diabetes, or reads up about it as a possibilty and not worry about her diet yet. I understand it can be hard to persuade depressed people to try things. You can only do your best.

.

Even if he is not diabetic, there could be some correlation to his moods.

Well, my son's making noises like he wants to quit the diet. He wants to eat potatoes. <sigh!>

Hey, the 3rd and 4th days are always the hardest for me! It's a big change, and it's hard to keep with it. It helped me to commit to two weeks....and after two weeks I felt so much better I wanted to continue!

Thanks, Gypsy. I'll try to keep that in mind. Part of the problem is that he doesn't really believe the diet will help him, so he's not terribly motivated. Also, he wasn't in ketosis anymore yesterday. Of course, I was in ketosis even though I'd cheated. <grrrrr!> I'm taking coconut oil, so maybe that's helping me. I think I'll have my son try that too. I've ordered some MCT oil, and as soon as it arrives I'll add that to his mix.

I know the Atkins diet works from me, so I'm highly motivated to stay with it. So I've been content to eat a fairly dull diet. My son's already bored with his options even though I've worked to give him variety. One thing I make for him is a ketogenic yogurt which he loves: heavy whipping cream, sour cream, Splenda, and one or two little strawberries chopped up in it.

At this point he's still hanging in there as a favor to me.

Hello all, I am bipolar with rapid cycling... I am also drug resistant, nothing seems to work and the week before my periods and of my periods are worse, as well as winter! That being said, low carb does help somewhat by keeping me away froms some of my food triggers. I also have seizures as a result of Zyprexa and Wellbrutrin...

I'm not sure what the difference is between Low Carb in general and the Ketogenic Diet but will do some research for myself. I'm currently following Eat Fat, Get Thin which recommends higher fat levels... My current goal is to get my fats up to around 80% a day with the lower carbs of course... Usually though, they are in the 70's! I do feel a little better... This is my second week...on EFGT!


Thanks for starting this thread...


TJ

Oh, dear. Are you still on the Zyprexa?



You need to stay in ketosis. I know I've been in and out of ketosis since I've been on Atkins.

I haven't received the book yet, but apparently with the classic ketogenic diet you need to get 80% of your calories from fat. Modified Atkins is high fat with no more than 10 carbs per day.



80% is the goal apparently. Maybe we can all work together to figure out a way to make it less miserable for you.



Thanks for contributing to it! I'd love to hear what results you get - positive or negative or non-existent.